A Marine for His Mom (Sugar Falls, Idaho)

by Christy Jeffries

  “Oh, yeah. I assumed Hunter would have told you. Colonel Filden, my commanding officer, is friends with the assistant director of the NCIS offices in San Francisco. He wanted me to apply there, and I figured it would be good to keep my options open.”

  Mr. Snoot asked him about neck sizes, leaving Maxine to deal with the unexpected blow while the two men moved on to the tables loaded down with dress shirts.

  Her heart raced and she felt light-headed, just as she had when she’d been a cheerleader and had been thrown up in the air to do a basket toss jump the very first time.

  And just like then, she’d been flying free one second, then, when her base team had missed the catch, she’d been flat on her back in the middle of the football field the next second. The air had been knocked out of her, and she’d had to command herself to breathe, just as she did now.

  Her hands trembled as she steadied herself against the colorful rainbow display of neckwear.

  What was with that line about keeping his options open? Was she one of his options?

  Sure, they’d agreed to keep things between them simple—no strings attached. So then why was her body reacting as if his leaving would send her into a tailspin?

  She thought he’d been actually considering the police chief job, but she should’ve trusted her gut all along. Cooper was bigger than anything their small town had to offer. Of course he’d be more interested in working for a federal agency in a huge city.

  But she’d been so caught up in the initial rush of their new romance that she’d had no idea about the NCIS gig. And while Hunter might have known about it, he’d only considered the one option that meant he didn’t have to think of the possibility of losing Cooper.

  Heck, after last night, she might’ve let herself believe that she felt that way, too. But she was a lot older than her son and should’ve known better.

  Maxine had anticipated that Cooper would get tired of Sugar Falls and take off for a bigger city, but couldn’t he have mentioned this before last night? Before she completely gave her body and her heart to him?

  “What about this one, Max?” Cooper held up a pea-green shirt.

  But she was too flustered to rise to the bait. She needed to catch her breath. She needed to get herself together and stop acting like a brokenhearted little girl. She gave him a thumbs-up before heading toward the restroom, where she turned on the faucet. Then turned it off. Then turned it on again.

  How had she so completely misread everything? It took her at least ten minutes of pacing the tile floors and deep breaths before she pulled herself together.

  This was her own fault, and she promised the woman looking at her in the mirror, from here on out, she would come up with a plan to extract Cooper from her life. But until she devised one, she had to face the music. She couldn’t stay in the bathroom forever.

  When she finally met him by the register, he asked, “Are you okay?”

  “Just feeling a little off. Must’ve been what I ate for lunch.”

  “But we ate the same thing. And I’m feeling fine.”

  She just bet he was.

  He put his receipt in his pocket and picked up several shopping bags and the plastic covered suit.

  “I guess some things affect people in different ways,” she said, not talking about food. “You, apparently, can handle things better than I can.”

  “Okaaaay,” he said, as they exited the store. But from the drawn-out way he said it, she knew he wasn’t convinced that everything was all right. “If you’re not feeling great, maybe we should head home.”

  It’s not your home, she wanted to shout at him. But anger equaled passion and she didn’t want to feel anything for him anymore. So she just nodded and allowed him to lead her to where they’d parked the car and open the door for her.

  While he drove them up the mountain, she kept her eyes closed, hoping he’d think she was feeling too poorly to talk.

  He switched on her car radio and set the station to Motown, even though she knew he didn’t like her favorite music. But he was doing it for her and she was acting like a petulant child who wasn’t being allowed to have her cake and eat it, too.

  Over and over her mind replayed what he wanted for his future and why she and Hunter weren’t enough for him. But she’d be damned if she’d bring it up.

  “Why don’t I take you home?” he asked. “Then I’ll pick up Hunter at the Marconi’s house.”

  “No!” She couldn’t have her son’s classmates and their parents wondering why Cooper was driving her car. “I’m feeling better. I’ll drop you off and go get him myself.”

  She thought he’d be relieved to be off the hook, to not have to play the role of family man. But he frowned at her before pulling his sunglasses out of the center console and shoving them on his face.

  They passed the cookie shop, and when he turned off the road toward his cabin, she heard him mumble something about separate cars and wearing disguises. But she was too wrapped up in her own emotions to pay attention to his grumbling.

  When he parked the car, he asked, “You sure you’re okay?”

  “I will be,” she said, as she got out of the passenger side and walked over toward the driver’s side.

  He moved toward her as if he wanted to kiss her goodbye, or at least hug her, but she knew if she let him get close, she might start crying right there in his driveway.

  “Don’t forget your shopping bags in the back,” she told him. The redirection allowed her to slip behind the wheel and put on her seat belt before closing the door.

  “So, you want to run tomorrow?”

  Yes, she did. In fact, she wanted to run right now. Away from him, not with him. “We’ll see.”

  “I mean, if you’re feeling better.”

  “I’m sure I will.”

  He studied her as if he suspected she might not feel better that soon. And he was right. How long did it take to heal from a broken heart?

  Chapter Twelve

  To: mcooper@yahoo.net

  From: hunterlovestherockies@hotmail.net

  Re: My Mom

  Date: April 30

  Hey Coop,

  My mom’s been acting kinda sad lately. I’ve never seen her so mopey. She won’t tell me what’s wrong, but maybe you can talk to her. Your a real good detective. I think she might be in trouble with the law because I heard her talking to Aunt Kylie and Aunt Mia about the NCIS office in San Francisco. Then she said that she shoulda known better all along and never shoulda let her guard down. If she goes to jail, can I come live with you?

  Hunter

  Maxine had been avoiding him for two weeks. Cooper didn’t need to glance up at the calendar tacked up next to the cabin’s refrigerator to know exactly how long it had been. They’d shared the most fabulous night of his life, and she’d made him feel things he hadn’t known his canned ham of a heart could feel. When they’d gone shopping afterward, they’d teased each other, they’d laughed at each other’s jokes and they’d freely packed on all the public displays of affection they hadn’t been able to exhibit in Sugar Falls.

  The next thing he knew, she was feeling under the weather and, before she’d even dropped him off, she was back to being the ice angel.

  That’s what he got for telling her about his past. For wearing his heart on his sleeve.

  At first he thought she was legitimately sick and he’d been concerned about her. But when she left him at the cabin, obviously well enough to go pick up her son on her own, he’d assumed she was stressed about talking to Hunter about the shift in their relationship.

  Ever since then, he’d suffered through her painful politeness every time he brought Hunter home after practice and a distant coolness every time they saw each other around town. He was desperate to talk to her to find out what had changed and to ask i
f he’d done something wrong. But he couldn’t bring himself to go to her and expose his vulnerability.

  She’d made it clear that she didn’t want their relationship—whatever it might be—to be known about in town. He could always speak to her in private, but what if she laughed at his neediness? What if she told him she didn’t want to be associated with him at all?

  They always seemed to beat around the bush with each other and, up until the night they’d made love, he’d been very careful not to put his heart out there. Unfortunately, that night and the day after, he had flung his heart out there for her to see—and discard.

  Thankfully, he’d done so outside the Sugar Falls gossip mill and didn’t have to suffer a public rejection, as well.

  This was why he didn’t do relationships. When it came to talking about his feelings, he couldn’t express himself.

  He hadn’t even told her that the moment he’d walked in for his interview, Cliff Johnston handed him an employment contract that he’d already drawn up. The Sugar Falls Police Chief position was his, if he wanted it. But how could he take the job when, for all he knew, Maxine was hoping he’d save her the embarrassment by leaving and getting out of their lives?

  His first instinct was to do just that. But the problem was, he didn’t want to make a decision until he knew exactly what she was thinking and why. And he’d been too damned scared to even ask. Each time he’d come face-to-face with her since their time in Boise, he’d turned back into that lost, abandoned twelve-year-old kid again, with no one to look out for him, no one who cared.

  But last night at baseball practice, while the team was in the dugout making fart jokes and seeing who could cram the most bubble gum into their adolescent mouth, Cooper realized he wasn’t a little boy anymore.

  He was a trained investigator, and a soldier. He made his living seeking out the truth and solving mysteries. What kind of law enforcement officer would he be if he didn’t confront Maxine and find out how she felt—even if the answer hurt him?

  He sat at the kitchen table, looking at his printed itinerary for his San Francisco flight so that he could meet up with the NCIS Special Agent in Charge. He’d hedged his bets and booked the trip knowing that he wouldn’t be able to handle living in Sugar Falls if he couldn’t be with Maxine.

  Then, this morning, when he checked his inbox and saw the email from Hunter, the pieces of the puzzle began to come together, and a seed of hope began to sprout.

  Was it possible that Maxine had been upset at the thought of him taking a new job and moving away? If that was the case, then that had to mean she cared about him.

  It made sense, now that he thought about it. The last thing they’d been talking about was his interview in San Francisco. Then she’d withdrawn.

  Under normal circumstances, Cooper wasn’t so slow to connect the dots. But then again, Cooper wasn’t good at personal relationships—or at falling in love. But sweet, innocent little Hunter might have unwittingly given him the one clue that would explain Maxine’s sudden case of cold shoulder.

  His heart picked up speed, and he stretched his arms over his head, trying to ponder the possibilities. He didn’t want to get his hopes up, since he knew where being wrong would lead. But he had to know. And there was only one way to find out for sure.

  He shoved his feet into his new boots and grabbed the keys to the Jeep. He didn’t want to jump right into any accusations or force any confessions without gathering more facts and locking down his case. Plus, he looked at his watch, realizing it was too late to talk to her alone. Her employees would already be at the bakery getting ready to open the shop for the day. If he wanted to confirm his suspicions, he would need to talk to her when nobody else was around. The last thing either of them wanted was an audience.

  Ten minutes later, he pulled the Jeep into a parking spot in front of the Cowgirl Up Café. On his way to the entrance of the diner, he gave Klondike and Blossom a pat before going inside. He couldn’t believe he was already used to seeing the two horses loitering on Snowflake Boulevard and knew that one of his first duties as police chief would be to regulate the potential traffic hazard.

  It was a bit late for the breakfast crowd, but he would have to make the most out of his reconnaissance. He took his regular seat at the counter and waited for Freckles to come around with her pot of coffee.

  “So is it official yet?” The busty, older waitress asked, as she filled his mug.

  That seemed to be the question of the week since most everyone in town wanted to know if he was the man who was going to head up the new police department.

  “I’m trying to work that out,” he said, purposely being ambiguous, hoping the woman would be her normally inquisitive and informative self.

  “So what’s stopping you? Are we too small a town for a city boy like you?”

  He nodded toward Scooter and Jonesy. “How could a town full of crazy characters like those two cranky cowboys not keep me on my toes?”

  “So then your heart is elsewhere?”

  “Nope. I’m pretty sure my heart is right here.”

  “I figured as much. So then what’s the holdup, darlin’?”

  “Well, my heart is here. But if I stay here with it, I want to make sure it stays intact.”

  Freckles clicked her tongue and shook her head. “I thought you were a smart fella’.”

  Cooper leaned back in his chair and stared at the woman who managed to work in the food service industry every day with three-inch painted fingernails. Did she just call him stupid?

  “How do you think you can get through life keeping your heart locked up in a jail cell?” she asked.

  “I guess I just figured it would be safer being in solitary confinement.”

  “Honey, the only thing safer in solitary confinement is perverts and snitches. You need to put your ticker back into the general population.”

  He chuckled, then took the warm mug between his hands. “How do you know so much about prison life, Freckles?”

  “Now that’s a story for another day, darlin’. But trust me when I say everyone gets their heart broken. You’re not the first, and you won’t be the last. Now, how a person recovers from it is what separates the men from the boys. You gotta face the hurt and let it make you stronger. Why do you think I named this place the Cowgirl Up?”

  He took a sip of his coffee, pondering her advice. “You definitely are a wise woman, Freckles. And I’ll certainly take your suggestion into consideration. I bet you’re a pretty good rider, too.”

  “Who me? Heavens, no. I’m deathly allergic to horses. Can’t even get within ten feet of one.”

  He looked at the pictures and the diner decor, realizing his assumptions had been wrong. Maybe he’d been wrong about Maxine, too.

  “Hey, Cessy,” the waitress called out.

  Cooper turned toward the front door and saw Hunter’s grandmother heading his way. Great. She was probably here to pressure him about the job.

  “Morning, Freckles,” Cessy said to the waitress as she lowered herself on the seat next to Cooper like a royal monarch taking her throne. “I’ll take a cup of tea and the fruit and yogurt plate. Hold the pineapple, the melon and the strawberries, and go easy on the yogurt.”

  “What’s left?” he couldn’t help but ask.

  “Bananas. They’re a great source of potassium, Matthew.” He didn’t correct her use of his first name. Probably because he was starting to get used to the motherly socialite treating him like a child.

  “I’ll have the chicken fried steak, eggs over easy, biscuits...”

  “No, no, no,” Cessy interrupted. “You have to get in shape for the academy. You can’t be putting on the calories like you used to.” She turned to Freckles, “He’ll have the fruit plate, as well.”

  “Sure thing.” The waitress abandoned him to deal with th
e reigning queen bee of Sugar Falls.

  He took another sip, and the coffee burned his empty stomach like acid, which would probably be more pleasant than the third degree he was about to get from Cessy Walker.

  “So, have you told Maxine yet?” she asked.

  “Told her what?” This was a new and interesting line of questioning.

  “That you’re staying in town and taking the chief job.”

  “I haven’t told anybody because I’m not sure that’s what I’m going to do.”

  “Cooper, let’s not waste any more time with this maybe, maybe not business that you and my daughter-in-law engage in. Hunter and I have worked too long and too hard to get you two together for you guys to blow it by refusing to talk to each other. It’s time that you put all your cards on the table.”

  Whoa. That’s what he’d planned to do, although it wasn’t any of her business.

  Wait. What did she mean about her and Hunter working so hard? He didn’t know which part of that little speech to address first.

  “How do you know what’s going on between me and Maxine?” he asked cautiously.

  “Look, son, you may think that I’m just a pretty face with a big circle of friends, but I’ve been around a few years and understand men and women. Besides, it doesn’t take a detective to figure out that you and Maxine have got it so bad for each other that neither of you can even look at the other without running out of the room with your tail between your legs.”

  It was only ten in the morning and already he’d been called stupid, out of shape and a coward.

  And by two different women.

  “Maybe there’s some attraction there,” he admitted. “But how would Hunter know that? And what do you mean that the two of you have been working to get us together?”

  “If you haven’t figured it out by now, Hunter is a lot more astute than most kids his age. Anyway, whose idea do you think it was to get you to come to Sugar Falls?”

  “Hunter’s?”

  “Of course it was Hunter’s. And why do you think he wanted you here so badly?”